


A Million Lights

by MachineQueen



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-07
Updated: 2015-10-07
Packaged: 2018-04-25 07:57:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4952545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MachineQueen/pseuds/MachineQueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set post game. Full of spoilers. Alvis finds himself remembering those who are gone.<br/>Stupid and Kallvis friendship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Million Lights

Alvis wandered the reconstructed Colony 9, as was his habit. Today, however, it seemed quieter than it usually did and there was a faint, smoky smell in the air. One of the merchant stands selling lamps caught his interest. He gave one of the lamps an experimental poke. The light flickered.

“Oi!” said the merchant. “No 'try before you buy'!”

“My apologies,” murmered Alvis. He was always apologising. It was an effective way to put a stop to any anger or frustration hurled in his direction, although most of the time he found that he didn't think he'd said or done anything particularly wrong. 

xXx

_The Audience Chamber, Alcamoth, another world ago. Head bowed and eyes closed, he awaited a response from the prince._

_“...You don't have to apologise to me, Seer.”_

xXx

Alvis shook his head, ridding himself of the memory and summoning another in its place. What was the matter with him? He wasn't usually one for reminiscing. 

Still, while he was doing so he would spare a thought for Zanza. Even Zanza himself, a being for the most part full of rage and self-entitlement, would calm down a little in the face of an apology. 

“I realise this is hard for you to understand,” Zanza had said. “but getting straight to the point is one of the quickest ways to get people angry or upset. Honesty is not the best policy.”

This was after Alvis had told Lorithia, while she was pondering how she might appear to the next High Entia emperor, that she would probably look younger if she perhaps hid her ears?

“So, You're saying I look old?” she said, stretching her expression into a warped sort of smile that emphasised her wrinkles.

“You are old,” Alvis said, puzzled. “in relation to 98% of the other beings on Bionis.”

She had slapped him so hard that his teeth rattled. He apologised. Dickson roared with cruel laughter. Zanza sighed. Alvis apologised again. 

This was the outcome of most Trinity meetings. 

Alvis could not say he missed the Trinity, but he did sometimes miss company. 

XxX

 _Alvis raised his head and looked up at Prince Kallian. His expression was kind, but he looked tired. There were faint dark shadows underneath his eyes._

_“I can see that I have disappointed you, Your Highness.”_

_“On the contrary. You may not have seen our victory against Mechonis but you have not seen our loss, either. It must mean that Shulk was right after all. The future is not set in stone.”_

_Honesty is not the best policy, Alvis had remembered._

XxX

Alvis journeyed on through the colony. He wasn't looking for anyone or anything in particular, he told himself. 

The colony folk ignored him, for the most part. Most of the people he had known in the former world, bar Shulk and his friends, had been High Entia. To the rest of the population, he was just another Homs, albeit an unusual looking one. He paused before what he assumed was the colony tavern. The smell reminded him of Dickson, smoke, beer and something indefinable. Was this where he had spent his time, outside of Alcamoth?

XxX

_“I would be grateful if you could accompany me to Sword Valley. Your abilities are indispensable when it comes to forming strategies.”_

_Alvis nodded. “I had assumed that was a given, Your Highness.”_

_Kallian laughed but there was little humour in it._

_“I thought you might say that. But...I don't feel I should force you. There will no doubt be casualties and I cannot guarantee your safety.”_

XxX  
Alvis left the tavern behind.

A fresh, cool breeze rippled through the colony. It felt like it had come from the water. Alvis slowly followed it, climbing up a great hill and then peering down at the beach below. 

The first thing he noticed was the sky, streaked with pink and orange. The second thing he noticed, in the dimming light, was that there was a large gathering of people on the beach below- people of all races. Machina, High Entia, Homs, Nopon. But...they were silent. It was unnatural, eerie even, for a group of people to be so quiet. In their hands, they appeared to be holding small candles. The flames looked like stars from this distance, their glow small but extremely bright. 

Alvis moved closer. He was fairly certain that no-one from below would turn around and spot him. The silence lasted a beat more, and then someone began to speak. A young man with light blonde hair and blue eyes. 

Alvis recognised the figure. It was Shulk. He...carried himself differently than he did in Alvis's memories. Alvis thought that he looked younger or older, but couldn't decide which. It was strange to see him without the Monado, as the recognisable red shape of it against his back had been the defining factor of his appearance for so long. 

“A lot of people died, to make this new world,” Shulk was saying. “And we will always remember their names.”

xXx

_“I can assure you that I am as eager to bring down the Mechon as you are, Your Highness.” said Alvis._

_“I am glad to hear it,” said Kallian. “Thank you.”_

_There was a pause. Alvis was waiting to be dismissed and tilted his head, puzzled, when the words didn't come._

_“I was wondering if you might like some tea,” Kallian said instead. “There is plenty of it that needs to be used up. As anyone else who might enjoy it has...gone.”_

_The final word, 'gone' was said with such a barely concealed sadness that even a computer, such as Alvis, felt a heart-rending sense of pity._

xXx

Shulk held up the candle he was holding. “I will always remember,” he said. And then “Dickson.” With a small puff of air, he blew out the flame.

One by one, the rest of the crowd followed suit, each person muttering the names of those they had loved and lost.

Alvis watched, quietly. The crowd gradually grew more noisy. The lights had all but disappeared. The sky had grown darker still, the sun having sunk into the horizon. People began to bring out lamps to see by in the dim light and make the journey back up the cliff into the colony. 

Alvis stayed where he was, hidden off the path by shrubbery and the darkness. He caught brief snatches of conversation as people passed him by.

“...nearly set Pokapoka's fur on fire!”

“I think Mother would have liked that.”

“I want to light more candles because-”

It was an hour before the beach was empty. Alvis rose at last, wincing at the pins and needles that attacked his feet. Physical bodies still came with unexpected difficulties. 

In the dim light of the stars, Alvis made his way down to the beach. He stepped on something hard and paused. Reaching into the sand, he pulled up a candle. Its wick looked unburned. Perhaps someone had dropped it by mistake. He turned it over in his fingers, considering it. 

He held it, considering those who were gone. He thought of Dickson, Zanza and Lorithia. Of their twisted morals, twisted hearts and twisted minds. 

He realised that he didn't like remembering them. He was just an ally to them, or a mere tool. They had never been kind to him. Only one person, during that time towards the end of the previous world, had ever showed him any kindness. 

He lit the candle with ether channelled through the tip of his finger.

XxX

_Alvis sipped cautiously at the cup he had been offered. It smelt sweet, like flowers from Eryth Sea._

_“Do you like it?” asked Kallian. “I am aware that it is not to everyone's tastes.”_

_“I do. Thank you. You are very kind to offer it to me,” he said._

_“I rather think that you are the kind one for taking me up on the offer,” said Kallian. “It has been quiet without my family here. It is why I sometimes find myself-selfishly- regretting that I suggested Melia accompany Shulk to Mechonis.”_

_“You are lonely,” said Alvis._

_“I expect it is surprising to you, considering I live my life surrounded by guards and servants. How could one be lonely when surrounded by so many people?”_

_Alvis felt as though he had been set some kind of puzzle. He took another sip of the tea. “It is because they are there by obligation,” he said eventually._

_Kallian nodded. “Precisely. Whereas, at this moment, you have no obligation to be here. I consider your presence a gesture of friendship. And I greatly appreciate it.”_

XxX

“Kallian,” Alvis said. He allowed his feeling of sadness- as much sadness as a computer (or perhaps not a computer anymore- perhaps in Shulk's new world, he had changed) could feel-to wash over him. Then he blew out the candle.


End file.
